What's For Dinner?

I deal with this question on a daily basis now. Long gone are the days when Darling Hubby was home before me on week nights and had supper on the table by the time I got home from work. (Seriously, I had to be the luckiest woman alive!) Now that he's on the road, the task falls into my lap. I don't mind cooking; it's figuring out what to cook that drives me bonkers!

I used to plan meals for the entire week and shop accordingly. I really should get back to doing that, and one of these days I will, by God. But in the mean time, I'm left wandering through the kitchen, trying to decide what I feel like fixing that my not-so-picky-but-rather-opinionated little boy will eat.

By some twist of fate, I came up with this concoction that seemed to fit the bill. It has protein, starch, and a serving or two of vegetables in each bowl, and I believe it's relatively inexpensive to make. Since I'm in a generous mood, here's how to make it:


Ingredients

• 1 box mac 'n' cheese
• 1/4 cup margarine/butter
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 medium onion, chopped
  
• 1 can petite diced tomatoes
• 1 tbsp salt-free garlic herb seasoning blend
• several dashes Worcestershire sauce
• 2-3 cups fresh spinach leaves, rough chopped
• salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. In a large pot, prepare mac 'n' cheese according to package directions (add margarine/butter and milk; amounts may vary depending on preparation instructions).
   
2. In a separate skillet, brown ground beef together with onion; drain well. Add to mac 'n' cheese.
3. Stir in tomatoes, seasoning blend, and Worcestershire sauce, and season to taste.
4. Stir in spinach and heat just until leaves start to wilt.

Makes 4-6 servings.


If you're like us, you like your mac 'n' cheese really cheesy, so I added 3 slices of American cheese (I didn't have any Velveeta on hand, but you could use that, too). Zeke cleaned his plate, so I'm guessing that's a sign he liked it. It's sort of like fixing Hamburger Helper, only you take it up a notch with the extra veggies and seasonings.

I think this recipe's a keeper. *wink*